Man City legal win to spark ‘free-for-all’? Stefan Borson shares huge update
Man City claimed victory in their Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules fight against the Premier League earlier in February.
The Premier League champions, who are awaiting a verdict in their separate 115 charges case, brought the legal action after being prevented from striking lucrative new deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank – which they claimed violated competition law.
An independent panel declared the APT rules null and void but they were replaced by a new set of guidelines in November 2024 which will also have to be approved independently.
City have already launched a new challenge against the fresh rulebook and as per Sky Sports (15 February), they are confident a panel will also rule in their favour.
Premier League’s ‘aggressive’ clubs could force through big-money sponsorship deals
The ruling from a tribunal means there were effectively no APT rules in place until the Premier League‘s amendments were voted in by a majority of top-flight clubs in November.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider that there could be a similar situation if the Citizens’ are successful in voiding the new ruleset.
He insisted it would take a “bold and aggressive” club to take advantage and force through a big-money deal in the absence of fair market valuation.
Borson told Football Insider: “There’s a lot of doubt at the moment.
“There was definitely a period of time between the first APT decision through to the time of the November amendments where there were no APT rules in place.
“If you were to have signed a transaction in that period, there is a possibility that it wouldn’t be subject to any fair market review.
“There are some wrinkles on that, and I doubt anyone actually did it – because it would be quite a bold thing for a club to do.
“If the Premier League lose again in the second hearing, there will have been a period since November where there were no rules in place.
“But nobody knows, it’s theoretical. We don’t know whether a bold and aggressive club is saying: ‘We’re going to sign this deal, and we’ll see what happens.’
“I suspect the end game is not a free-for-all. The ultimate end game will be to go back to the original 2021 APT rules with some sort of shareholder loan provision bolted on.”
Man City eye more rebuilding with ‘five summer deals’
Industry insider Mick Brown has told Football Insider that Man City are planning to add at least five top-class signings to their squad this summer.
City are looking set to continue their rebuild after poor performance on the pitch this term.
| Player | Age |
| Scott Carson (GK) | 39 |
| Ilkay Gundogan (MF) | 34 |
| Kevin De Bruyne (MF) | 33 |
| Stefan Ortega (GK) | 32 |
| Ederson (GK) | 31 |
| Mateo Kovacic (MF) | 30 |
As part of the revamp, Football Insider revealed on 17 February that Bernardo Silva is wanted by clubs in Spain, Portugal and Saudi Arabia amid speculation over his future at the Etihad.
Kevin De Bruyne is out of contract in June while James McAtee could become the latest academy product to leave the English champions.
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